Glass half full? the role of optimism in health

Jun 23, 2022 12:12pm

I am getting ready for my trip to South-Korea where I will be delivering a keynote. Whilst the hot weather has been nice, it is a challenge to stay productive.

In this week's newsletter: Latest research, Insidetracker partners with Dynacare, Cronometer launches Apple watch app, New podcast on Personalised vitamins, and more!!

Yours in health,

Mariette & the rest of the Qina team

From the 1st of July, we are shaking things up at Qina, so if you would like to continue receiving updates, news and developments in Personalised nutrition directly in your inbox sign up to a free account below.

Research update

Can United States Adults Accurately Assess Their Diet Quality?

The purpose of this study was to determine if adults in the United States (US) can accurately assess the quality of their diet. By answering a single question "How healthy is your diet?", the participants (n= 9,757 adults) rate their diet as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Participants also completed 24-hour food questionnaires, and then, researchers compared the answers to see how well responses to the two exercises matched up. The results have shown that "In general, US adults cannot accurately assess the quality of their diet with the exception of those assessing the healthfulness of their diet as poor. Only 15% of participants accurately assessed their diet quality. Of the 8,002 participants who inaccurately assessed their diet quality, 75% overrated the healthfulness of their diet".

Goal language is associated with attrition and weight loss on a digital program: Observational study

This Noom study aimed to determine if an individual’s language in goal setting (i.e., language used in setting a goal at the start of the program) and goal striving (i.e., language used in conversations with a coach about the process of striving for goals) are associated with attrition and weight loss on a mobile weight management program. The general results have shown that "interactions with a coach with distanced language were associated with better outcomes (less dropout and more weight loss) and immediate language was associated with worse outcomes (more dropout and less weight loss)".

Related Articles:

PNU 07. 2022: Noom settles billing lawsuit for $62 million and promises to change business practices to address customer complaints

PNU 04.2022: NOOM faces backlash after former users claim the app promotes diet culture

PNU 30.2021: Weight loss company Noom launches behavioral health product

Optimism, lifestyle, and longevity in a racially diverse cohort of women

This study "examined associations of optimism to longevity across racial and ethnic groups and assessed healthy lifestyle as a possible mediating pathway". By analyzing data from 159,255 participants from the Women's Health Initiative, the study results have shown that "higher optimism was associated with longer lifespan and a greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity overall and across racial and ethnic groups". The optimism quartile was associated with 5.4% of a longer lifespan. Within racial and ethnic subgroups, these estimates were 5.1% in non-Hispanic White, 7.6% in Black, 5.4% in Hispanic/Latina, and 1.5% in Asian women. A high proportion (53%) of the women achieved exceptional longevity. Also, lifestyle mediated 24% of the optimism-lifespan association in the full sample, 25% in non-Hispanic White, 10% in Black, 24% in Hispanic/Latina, and 43% in Asian women.

Association of Taste-Related Genes With Diet Quality and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Among Community-Dwelling Adults – The Framingham Heart Study

This study performed by over 6,200 adults aimed to determine the associations of taste-related SNPs (bitter, salty, savoury, sour, and sweet), combined as polygenic risk scores (PRS), with diet quality, and CRFs (waist circumference, glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure [SBP and DBP], and log[triglyceride] [TG] and HDL levels). Overall, the researchers found, that people with high "bitter" scores generally ate fewer whole grains than those with low scores. Similarly, folks with a genetic sensitivity for savoury tastes ate fewer vegetables, especially of the red and orange variety. Also, surprisingly, high scores for sweet taste perception were not linked to any food group.

Dietary total, plant and animal protein intake in relation to metabolic health status in overweight and obese adolescents

This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between dietary total, plant, and animal protein intake with metabolic health status in Iranian overweight/obese adolescents (n = 203, mean age of 13.98 years, and 50.2% girls.). Participants were classified as metabolically healthy obese (MHO) or unhealthy obese (MUO) based on International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and IDF/Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) definitions. The study results have concluded that "individuals with higher dietary total, plant and animal protein intake were less likely to have MUO after considering all possible covariates".

Our CEO was recently interviewed on the Longevity by design podcast hosted by Dr Gil Blander from Insidetracker.

Dial in to listen to our discussion on what role Personalised nutrition has on longevity and what needs to happen to bridge gaps.

Technology News

Dynacare, InsideTracker Reach Agreement to Deliver Patient-Requested Blood Testing, Expert Analysis, and Actionable Insights in Canada

InsideTracker, the leading, truly personalized performance and nutrition system, today entered into an agreement with Dynacare, Canada's most established health solutions company. InsideTracker will provide patient-directed blood testing, expert analysis and science-backed, actionable insights to Canadian consumers through the Dynacare Plus App.

NCBR launches €22M call for proposals on nutrition research and innovation

Poland's government by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) has announced the NUTRITECH program, with the main goal to increase the availability of products and solutions for proper nutrition by 2030. The NUTRITECH program’s aim is the implementation of developed solutions, such as pro-health products, nutritional plans, processes, technologies, and accompanying services, which will help reduce the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases, including diet-related diseases. Funding is available for industrial research, experimental development, and pre-implementation works. The NCBR’s call for proposals will be open between 6 July – 30 September 2022 with a budget of EUR 22 million.

Leading nutrition tracker Cronometer launches Apple Watch app for its users

Cronometer is a free nutrition tracker with the most accurate and comprehensive nutrition database on the market. It has launched its Apple Watch app, bringing all its mobile app features to Apple Watch users, that can snapshot their energy intake, remaining energy, highlighted targets, and nutrition scores (for Gold users).

Wearable tech: eating and playing our way to a longer lifespan

This article quotes how wearable technology and gaming are creating new possibilities for personalized nutrition and for physical activity engagement:

(1) From Tufts' University School of Engineering a wearable device that can detect specific molecules, such as glucose and salt, in food while it is being eaten. The 2mm x 2mm sensor attaches directly to a tooth and transmits radiofrequency waves based on the nutritional molecules it detects.

(2) From Nutronimcs in partnership with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) a personalized nutrition-monitoring patch, that measures key dietary biomarkers and sends the information to an app, enabling users to precisely track how their bodies respond to different foods.

(3) The FitBit daily steps recorder works as a game. For those who are already relatively active, an additional 1,000 steps a day reduces mortality by 6%. For those who live a more sedentary lifestyle, 1,000 extra steps can reduce mortality by up 36%.

And, (4) virtual reality-based exergames (VREs) have the potential to be an accessible way for everyone to engage the physical activity and stimulate the brain. That can be also a good strategy for the elderly population.

mHealth Technologies Improving Smart Home Healthcare Services

The global smart home healthcare market is projected to generate a revenue of $96.2 billion by 2030, increasing from $8.7 billion in 2019 and advancing at a 26.2% CAGR from 2020 to 2030. The growing healthcare expenditure, increasing geriatric population, rising usage of loT-connected smart home healthcare devices, surging prevalence of chronic diseases, and growing preference for personalized healthcare are resulting in the expansion of the market.

We now have over 500 Personalised nutrition companies in our Qina hub. We ran a quick analysis and updated our Market data snapshot, and here is a breakdown of where they play.

This market data is available to members only on the Qina hub. For more info on becoming a member, get in touch!

Food & Consumer Trends

Modern Weight Loss: What is Personalized Weight Care and Why You Should Try It

Found, an evidence-based weight care solution that combines the best of modern medicine with personalized coaching and community has conducted a trial with 2,000 participants that revealed that 91% have tried at least one strategy for weight loss, with half revealing that they’ve tried 11 different methods of weight loss. Only 15% described their weight loss experience as “rewarding” and 33% felt that losing weight required more sacrifice than having kids! Also, almost four in five (79%) want to be healthier, not skinnier

Synbiotics on the rise as microbiome profiling comes into view, says Lumina

According to Lumina Director, Ewa Hudson, “we are entering the era of microbiome profiling”, with 51% of probiotic supplements enriched with prebiotics like fructooligosaccharides, inulin, galactooligosaccharides, other oligosaccharides, fibre, xylooligosaccharides, and resistant starch. With this boom of synbiotic formulations, the next step may be microbiome profiling and modulation that can offer personalized treatments for many health concerns.

PNU 20.2021: Google search trends: Consumers on the search for prebiotics